Back to earth, dudes. And our defense just stunk it up

[GimmeTheBall!]

There was a promising start to Sunday's debacle.
Brees, sacked on the third or fourth play of the game.
But that was before Brees did a surgical, passing death blow to America's team. For the entire game.
How can one put it . . . .

Dallas' secondary suxed.

And the Cowboys' defensive line let the Saints break big ones.

Anybody out there wanna name names?

How about the entire secondary? Hmmmm. Romo didn't play that bad. He was just trying to catch up as the defense was falling woefully behind. Romo tried to make things happen and it backfired.

Hang this one on the defense, dudes. It started and ended with defense Sunday.

 

[dbair1967]

There was a promising start to Sunday's debacle.
Brees, sacked on the third or fourth play of the game.
But that was before Brees did a surgical, passing death blow to America's team. For the entire game.
How can one put it . . . .

Dallas' secondary suxed.

And the Cowboys' defensive line let the Saints break big ones.

Anybody out there wanna name names?

How about the entire secondary? Hmmmm. Romo didn't play that bad. He was just trying to catch up as the defense was falling woefully behind. Romo tried to make things happen and it backfired.

Hang this one on the defense, dudes. It started and ended with defense Sunday.

the defense was horrible...terribly coached and the results showed it

but Romo was horrible too...he threw a bunch of horrendous passes and probably should have had 4 or 5 ints

this was a team loss, but our coaches were also a HUGE liability in this game

David

 

[jrumann59]

the defense was horrible...terribly coached and the results showed it

but Romo was horrible too...he threw a bunch of horrendous passes and probably should have had 4 or 5 ints

this was a team loss, but our coaches were also a HUGE liability in this game

David

You can say that about any QB. This game does have the element of luck in it. If anything you can say Romo's accuracy was not there tonight he was either short or too long.

 

[sk0aL]

It's mostly on the defense, but the coaches simply didn't put our offense in a position to win tonight. We were gashing them with the run then we would simply abandon it after the first play of the series. JJ would reel off a 9-11 yard run then we would run 3 straight pass plays.

Where was Barber? I know JJ was playing out of his head but we didn't wear them down with the run and our pass-happy performance kept our defense on the field and allowed Brees to light us up.

Zimmer has to be on the hot seat after this debacle. There are franchises around the league that would kill to have the talent that we do on defense, and the fact that they are so under-utilized is a crying shame.

I hope the team wakes the hell up, because playing like we did tonight we won't even sniff the Super Bowl. Hell, we might not even make the playoffs.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Where was Barber?

Maybe. Because after MBIII was running like crazy, suddenly he becomes invisible?

I think Parcells had a father-son type meeting and JJ promised everything to Parcells and Parcells told him he believed in him and would still start.

Thus MBIII's disappearing act.

The odd thing is JJ seemed to be doing well, then we shut down our ground game. Very discombobulated strategy and game plan.

 

[AdamJT13]

The odd thing is JJ seemed to be doing well, then we shut down our ground game. Very discombobulated strategy and game plan.

I've said this in several threads already, and I'll probably have to keep saying it. We didn't "get away" from our running game. We ran the ball about as often (situational percentage-wise), but EVERY SINGLE TIME we had a third down before the fourth quarter, we threw an incomplete pass. You CANNOT sustain drives when you do that. Before tonight, Romo had converted on 60 percent of his third-down passes. Tonight, he was 0-for-6 before it was 42-17 in the fourth quarter.

More than 56 percent of all runs in the NFL gain 3 yards or less, and more than 30 percent gain 1 yard or less. So even if you're running well, there are bound to be third-and-medium or third-and-long situations when you have to pass. If you convert, you get a chance to run the ball again. If you don't -- and we didn't -- you're punting.

 

[chinch]

I've said this in several threads already, and I'll probably have to keep saying it. We didn't "get away" from our running game. We ran the ball about as often (situational percentage-wise), but EVERY SINGLE TIME we had a third down before the fourth quarter, we threw an incomplete pass.

Nope.

we threw too often on 1st/2nd instead of GASHING NO which we were doign 10 yards at a clip.

KEEP RUNNING TIL THEY PROVE THEY CAN STOP YOU

look it up... stats are just stats and not situational in your case. you're right about missing on 3rd but that was also due to missing throws in 1st/2nd

 

[jbsg02]

My 5 step plan to a better Defense

1. Fire Zimmer
2. Switch back to 4-3
3. Move Roy to LB
4. Get a safety(or 2) who can make a play on a ball or stay with a WR
5. FIND A WAY TO GET PRESSURE ON THE QB

 

[AdamJT13]

Nope.

we threw too often on 1st/2nd instead of GASHING NO which we were doign 10 yards at a clip.

KEEP RUNNING TIL THEY PROVE THEY CAN STOP YOU

look it up... stats are just stats and not situational in your case. you're right about missing on 3rd but that was also due to missing throws in 1st/2nd

I'll post this again from another thread --

We had a third-and-6 after back-to-back runs of 0 and 4 yards by Julius.

We had a third-and-15 after a 5-yard run and a sack.

We had a third-and-6 after a 1-yard scramble and a 3-yard run.

We had a third-and-6 after a 2-yard run and an incomplete pass.

We had a third-and-8 after a run for a loss of 1 (by Barber) and a 3-yard pass.

After that, it was 42-17, and running would have been pointless.

So on the 10 first- and second-down plays that created those failed third downs, we ran six times (for a whole 13 yards) and called four pass plays (a sack, a scramble, an incompletion and a 3-yard completion). Only one of the first-down plays was a pass play, and the three second-down pass plays were second-and-5, second-and-8 and second-and-11 AFTER running plays. So, what would you have done? Run on EVERY first and second down, no matter the distance?

It doesn't matter if you're running the ball well if you can't convert on third downs when necessary. Let's say you start at your 20 and run for 8 yards, then 5 yards for a first down at the 33, then 16 yards to get a first down on your 49. Then -- oops -- you get tackled for a 2-yard loss, then you pick up 5 yards on your next run, leaving you with a third-and-7 from your opponents' 46. Are you going to run it again? If you're smart, you'll throw the ball the majority of the time in that situation. And if the pass falls incomplete, you're punting despite that wonderful 6.4 rushing YPC and the fact that four of your five rushes gained at least 5 yards.

I'll say it again, no matter how well you're running the ball, at some point, you WILL be in a third-down passing situation, and you MUST be able to convert those in order to sustain drives.

 

[jchocolate82]

My 5 step plan to a better Defense

1. Fire Zimmer
2. Switch back to 4-3
3. Move Roy to LB
4. Get a safety(or 2) who can make a play on a ball or stay with a WR
5. FIND A WAY TO GET PRESSURE ON THE QB

I can agree with 4 out of 5 of your statments but the 3-4 is here to stay and doesnt need to go anywhere. Its a great defensive scheme that just isnt being utilized properly by our team. Too much time and effort was put into bringing in the personnel to man this defense. Our defense just played lazy and was totally out coached

 

[jackrussell]

My 5 step plan to a better Defense

1. Fire Zimmer
2. Switch back to 4-3
3. Move Roy to LB
4. Get a safety(or 2) who can make a play on a ball or stay with a WR
5. FIND A WAY TO GET PRESSURE ON THE QB

So part of your plan is to.......find a plan to pressure the QB.

Enlightening as all get out there.

 

[chinch]

I'll post this again from another thread --

We had a third-and-6 after back-to-back runs of 0 and 4 yards by Julius.

We had a third-and-15 after a 5-yard run and a sack.

We had a third-and-6 after a 1-yard scramble and a 3-yard run.

We had a third-and-6 after a 2-yard run and an incomplete pass.

good numbers spin, but the BOLD section highlights INAPPROPRIATE PASSING which Tuna has done since Thanksgiving.

5 yard run then a THROW... STUPID STUPID STUPID.

why would we want to get into a gunslinging contest with NO?

To make matters of the STUPID pass calls worse, the actual play calls were seemingly devoid of quick slants and such to get a rhythm for the O.

POUND THE FOOTBALL

BTW this was a first guess i mentioned it immediately not after the losss

 

[canters]

We must get past this game and make adjustments or we will lose to the Falcons....can anyone say 9-7 again?

The coaches must adjust Romo's game and help him get past the last 2 weeks. Teams have decided to keep him in the pocket and drop LBs into coverage, figuring our OL will let pressure get through and rattle Romo. He is dangerous outside the pocket and teams have gameplanned to keep tabs on him.

I have no answers for the defense. What an overated group we have. Vick may kil us unless we keep him in the pocket. Zimmer's stock is low right now.

 

[superpunk]

I'll hang it on the whole team, both sides, and the coaching staff. They lost as a unit, yesterday. The defense shouldn't give up 40, but when your QB is playing like garbage and you can't sustain any offensive momentum, your defense doesn't stand a chance.

 

[burmafrd]

Run the ball untill they stop you. Both on first and second downs. That has a good chance to make it third and short; of those third downs you showed adam, only once did we run 2 times on first and second. then we tried to throw either long or intermediate; we did not do short slants, screens, dumpoffs, etc. If your QB is having a bad day, go short. Hejust might snap out of it after a few completions and first downs on short stuff. It also brings the D in and allows for going long easier.

 

[dbair1967]

I'll hang it on the whole team, both sides, and the coaching staff. They lost as a unit, yesterday. The defense shouldn't give up 40, but when your QB is playing like garbage and you can't sustain any offensive momentum, your defense doesn't stand a chance.

please see the Chicago Bears of the last two years now

David

 

[chinch]

Run the ball untill they stop you. Both on first and second downs. That has a good chance to make it third and short; of those third downs you showed adam, only once did we run 2 times on first and second. then we tried to throw either long or intermediate; we did not do short slants, screens, dumpoffs, etc. If your QB is having a bad day, go short. Hejust might snap out of it after a few completions and first downs on short stuff. It also brings the D in and allows for going long easier.

Yes indeed. this what infuriated me watching the game unfold from 7-0 lead into the abyss. we're giving Romo responsibilities as if he were joe montana in his prime. inexcusable and unnecessary.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

I still cannot believe it........******!

 

[jbsg02]

So part of your plan is to.......find a plan to pressure the QB.

Enlightening as all get out there.

Most of that was jut knee-jerk stuff. But I think a switch to 4-3 would help us get pressure. If we had Ellis and Ware at DE and had a DT rotation. Carpenter was a pressure player in college, if he could bring that game again that'd help. Maybe Roy would be a pressure player at LB?